The Messes We Leave Behind
by pretty in orange
Summary: My view on what happened when Shinji, Rose and Kensei left for Soul Society. Female Vizard centric, eventual pairings of LisaXRose, ShinjiXHiyori and KenseiXMashiro. T for language and some upcoming serious themes.
1. Leaving

A/N: Even though I've done oneshots and am going to put up a Bleach drabble collection, I still feel like this is my first real Bleach story... and I guess in the way of having chapters, it is. Anyway, I hope you like it, and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, I love being able to improve because of comments from my readers.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, and I make no profit from this.

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><p>"I can take care of things here." Lisa didn't look up from her manga at Rojuro "Rose" Otoribashi. "You three just make sure you say your goodbyes. I wouldn't want the 'children' getting upset with you after you're gone." She turned the page, despite the turmoil she felt inside her chest, the turmoil that was fighting to get out of her mouth and eyes.<p>

"Yeah, we wouldn't want that, I guess." Rose regarded her with a bored look.

Lisa didn't want to think about what would happen once Rose, Shinji, and Kensei were gone. Mostly she just wanted them to leave, to get it over with. Any person with a drop of sense tore a band-aid off fast, not lingered and pulled it. Unless you were a masochist, and that was one thing Lisa Yadomaru was not.

"Get out of my sight! You dumbass!" Screamed a young girl's voice, and a second later Shinji was seen to have been propelled out the door by Hiyori's small, pale foot. The door slammed after he was already on the floor, nose bleeding.

"That went well." Rose commented as Lisa pulled a handful of tissues from a nearby box and handed them to Shinji.

"Kensei is going to have a worse time than either of us." Shinji sighed, sitting up and pressing the acupressure point between his nose and his lip to try and stop the bleeding.

As if on cue, a long, childish wail emitted from Mashiro's room. A long string of swearwords followed it closely, ending in "Damn it Mashiro, stop crying!" Which was tailed by an even louder wail.

"This could take a while." Lisa mused, tipping her head back down to her manga.

Rose opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, and then shut it. Evidently, he had decided what he had to say just wasn't that important.

Lisa could feel Rose's eyes on her, searching for the least bit of resistance in the plan. When he found none, he turned and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Shinji glared at him, still trying to squelch the bleeding from his nostrils. "We were going together."

"I'm going early. You can go with Kensei." Rose walked out without another word, and he seemed fine with everything.

So why did Lisa, still hiding behind her manga, feel like something was missing?

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><p>AN: A pretty uneventful first chapter, though it'll get more stressful for them as we get into this. I also just realized that Hachi and Love weren't in this chapter... I just really didn't know how to fit them in I guess. Constructive criticism is appreciated greatly.


	2. Emotional Injuries

A/N: Thank you to everyone who put this on alerts and encouraged me! It really was a great way to start out in the Bleach section, with people setting this to their alerts, so thank you so much. Let's get this chapter on the way then…

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach and I make no profit from this.

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><p>"Lisa!" Mashiro screamed from her room, stretching out her friend's name so it had multiple syllables. Lisa dropped her manga and darted towards Mashiro's room. The door was wide open, and Mashiro was facedown in her pillow, the sounds she made reminiscent of a small child being left at a daycare.<p>

"I'm sure he'll visit." Lisa sighed, running her fingers through green hair. "He's not as much of an ass as he acts like."

"He's a meanie! A big fat meanie!" Mashiro yelped, sitting up and punching her pillows. "And a liar! I hate him! I hate him!" Even with her screams and livid punches to the pillows, Lisa recognized the tears in Mashiro's eyes and the agony in her voice.

"You shouldn't say you hate him." Lisa succeeded in getting Mashiro to focus on her with that. "What if he died tomorrow, how would you feel then?" Lisa felt guilty as soon as she said it. She had known for hundreds of years not to say those kinds of things to Mashiro, but she was worn down from her own emotional ache and she couldn't think clearly anymore.

Mashiro's bottom lip quivered and she burst into tears, running out the door. The door to the warehouse banged behind her, and Lisa sighed loudly. With all the trouble Mashiro could get into while she was that upset, she'd have to track her down.

"Love!" She yelled, while still managing to keep her voice even.

"Yeah?" Love poked his head out of his room. "You never raise your voice. What happened?"

"Mashiro freaked out and ran outside somewhere." Lisa pulled her jacket on, grabbing Mashiro's just in case. Lisa knew exactly what Mashiro could get into, left on her own she was a disaster waiting to happen, especially loose in the city. "Keep an eye on Hiyori for me, she's been flying off the handle even more than usual lately and she needs to be watched. I'll go get Mashiro."

"Keep Hiyori under control. Got it." Love paused as Lisa's hand grasped the doorknob. "You'll be alright tracking Mashiro down by yourself? You know how she gets. I can find Hachi if you want me to…."

"I upset her. I can handle it." Lisa slammed the door behind her, darting down the street.

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><p>"Damn it!" Hiyori glared at the hole in the wall of her room, then, in frustration, kicked a matching hole in it. Ignoring the stinging in her hand and bare foot, She glared out the window, scrubbing her eyes with her sleeve. "I hate that dumbass!" She pulled her hand back to break the window but a hand folded around her arm.<p>

"You shouldn't be taking your anger out on your room." Love let go of her arm, but stepped in front of the glass. "If you've got so much extra energy why don't you spar with someone?"

"Get away from me you lummox." Hiyori growled, turning to head for the door. She didn't feel like dealing with Love right then - as if she had ever felt like dealing with Love.

"If you miss Shinji so much, just say it." Love scowled at her obstinate behavior. "We all miss them. And you're acting like a child, so just grow up." Love turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Shut up…" Hiyori muttered, forcing the rusty lock across. "Just shut up… you don't know anything." She swallowed hard, rubbed her sleeve across her eyes and pressed herself into a corner. God, she was crying. She couldn't even stand herself right now. She punched the wall again but this time only succeeded in bruising her knuckles.

_Only weaklings cry. _Hiyori told herself. But she still had to keep wiping the tears away.

She was hoping this was the only time she'd have to admit she was weak, to herself or anyone else.

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><p>Lisa, who could stay calm through a fight to the death, through fighting her hollowfied teammates, was panicking inside. She only knew one more place she could check for Mashiro, and then she was out of ideas.<p>

As she approached the park, she caught a glimpse of green hair amongst a group of school age children. Sure enough, as Lisa approached, she could see Mashiro on the ground, talking to the children and laughing as if she were one of them. A glance at the bench of Mothers revealed that the Mothers were perplexed, but not worried.

"Mashiro." Lisa pulled her friend out of the pile of kids, being careful not to hurt any children. "It's time to go home."

"I'm not going to go home until you apologize!" Mashiro yelped and the children scattered.

"I'm sorry. But we're all worn thin from them leaving, and saying you hate Kensei isn't going to make it any better." Lisa shook her head. "It's just going to make you feel worse, day by day. So admit it, you miss him. You miss him a lot. But he's not gone forever. So it'll be alright…"

Mashiro seemed to cheer up at that, and she bounced ahead of Lisa, towards their home.

Lisa just hated that she had to wipe tears from her own eyes.

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><p>AN: A bit of a longer chapter, and more dramatic. What did you think?


	3. Impact Site

A/N: My goal is a chapter a day, as much as I can. Some days I'll probably have to skip due to family things… Thank you again to my loyal reviewers/readers! You guys and girls make my day! Anyway, let's get this chapter on the road.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. I make no profit from this at all.

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><p>Hiyori stared at her zanpakuto, then at the cut across her palm. It had been accidental, she had started to pull it out of its sheath and she had nearly dropped it. The cut had resulted when she had grabbed the blade in an attempt to stop her sword from clattering to the ground.<p>

It wasn't that she wanted to hurt herself. It was the fact that all she could do, instead of cleaning and bandaging the cut like a normal person, was stare at it and get caught up in her own thoughts.

_I think my heart looks like that._ Hiyori thought, her eyebrows drawing in in pain of more than one kind. _It has a big cut in it too._

"Idiot." She headed up from the training level of the warehouse to the bathroom, starting to scrub the cut with soap.

Still, she couldn't help but keep thinking on that plane of thought. _Shinji… as much as I would never admit it out loud, he hurt me when he left. And I'll never forgive him for that… that dumbass… it's all his fault._

"Hiyori." Lisa's usually calm voice sounded just a little shaky. "There's blood on the floor out here. Are you alright?"

"Yes!" Hiyori snapped, wrapping some bandages around her palm and taping them up tight to stop the bleeding.

"I'm coming in." Lisa wrestled the old doorknob until it popped and stepped inside. Eyeing Hiyori's hand, she sighed. "Accidental?"

"Duh. I'm not a dumbass." Hiyori tried to step around her and get away. But the bathroom itself wasn't exactly spacious and the Lisa was blocking the doorway.

"Just be careful, alright?" Lisa turned so she could get through. "We don't need anyone here getting hurt."

Hiyori looked at her for a long moment and then slipped past her, her face red with annoyance… or was that embarrassment?

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><p>Lisa flopped on the couch. She never understood what people meant when they said that having children wore you out. The only child that she had ever known was Nanao Ise and that girl had been an angel compared to her "makeshift children", Hiyori and Mashiro, that she was babying now.<p>

"You alright, Lisa?" Love studied her from a chair, where he was reading some of Lisa's manga he had borrowed.

"Don't talk to me right now." Lisa huffed, burying her face in a couch pillow. She inhaled deeply without realizing why. She thought for a second, then bolted away from the pillow.

"Something wrong?" Love grinned like he knew exactly why she had acted that way, when clearly he didn't.

Lisa's hand knotted over a handful of the pillow, a sharp ache making its home in her chest. The pillow smelled like Rose's shampoo. Memories of Rose lying on the couch, manga in one hand, flooded Lisa's brain. Lisa had the feeling she was either going to cry or puke her guts up, and she didn't want anyone in the house to see her do either.

"I'm going out. Keep an eye on Hiyori and Mashiro." Lisa darted out the door, barely taking a moment to slide her shoes on.

She started walking, and she knew if she didn't just focus on putting one foot in front of the other, didn't just focus on what she was passing, she would have a breakdown. She wasn't quite sure what that entailed for her, but she really didn't want to find out.

Night fell, but she didn't stop walking. The stars tried to beat out the streetlamps, a battle that would only last until daylight.

When she did stop, she was at the outskirts of town. She was fatigued, and her legs were on fire. She crumpled to the ground and took a few shaky breaths.

_I don't get it. I've never needed anyone. I've always been able to stand on my own, so why am I acting like this? I have to hold it together._ Lisa's eyes grew wet and she shook her head, trying to dispel the tears. _I don't know if I can…_

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><p>"Where's Lisa?" Mashiro looked up at Love, obviously just as horrified at the thought of Lisa being gone as she was with Kensei leaving.<p>

"She went out." Love shrugged. "What's wrong?"

"Hiyori's missing!" Mashiro hopped up and down, reminiscent of a toddler who was trying to get her parents' attention.

Love ran to Hiyori's room and whipped the door open, revealing a room empty of the blonde vizard girl.

Love grabbed Mashiro's wrist and ran out the door with her.

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><p>AN: This feels a little like a soap opera almost… is that bad?


	4. Memories

A/N: I don't know if I'll be able to manage a chapter tomorrow... our dog is having surgery, we have to shop, and go to the laundry-mat. I'll take some legal pads so I can work if I can focus. Anyway, big thanks to my loyal reviewers, Ayase Reincarnated and The Rish! Your reviews are gold! Now, on with the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach and I make no profit from this.

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><p>A petite, dark haired boy spotted the woman in a school uniform huddling near an abandoned shop. Without hesitation, he walked over to her. "Miss? Are you alright?"<p>

Lisa gave the boy a glare with her bloodshot eyes. She hadn't slept a wink, and she hadn't been able to stop those damn tears until daybreak.

"Miss...?" The boy held out a handkerchief to her, a small, soft smile on his face.

"I'm fine." Lisa stood on wobbling legs that had long ago fallen asleep when she sat on them in an attempt not to flash her panties at passerby. Sitting in the fetal position wasn't smart in her skirt, not when people were around.

"You don't look fine." The boy pressed the handkerchief into her hand. "My name is Mizuiro Kojima, what's yours?"

Lisa narrowed her eyes, but handed the cloth back. "You're going to be late for school."

"That's fine with me." Mizuiro smiled sweetly at her. "I'm always here to help a lady in need."

"Well, I'm no damsel in distress. Go to class." Lisa took a deep breath and tried to walk away. Had she honestly fallen this low? Some school kid worrying about her?

Without moving from where he stood, Mizuiro called out, "I'll admit, I like women about your age. But that doesn't mean you can't talk to me. You look upset."

Lisa paused. She wasn't sure why, but a little part of her wanted to talk to him.

The rest won out.

"Go to class. Don't flunk out because of me." Lisa called back as she headed back towards the vizard warehouse.

She turned the corner and that kid came flying up in front of her. "Just take this. You don't have to use it, but I think you need someone to talk to." He tucked a scrap of paper into her hand, and then ran back towards the school.

Lisa already knew it was a phone number before she opened it up. But a little part of her knew she needed a friend outside her usual group, and she tucked it in her pocket without consciously thinking about it.

While she didn't have an explanation for why she had run off, at least not one that she was going to share with anyone, she fully intended to lock herself in the bathroom for the longest amount of time she could manage to scrub the street dirt off of herself. She always forgot what it felt like to spend a night outside.

When she arrived home, a note was taped to the door, with her name scrawled across the top. All it said was that Hiyori had disappeared and Love had taken Mashiro to try and find her.

Lisa whipped her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed Love's number, but it went straight to voicemail.

"Damn it! Charge your cell phone, Love!" Lisa screamed, too exasperated to hold her anger in. She felt like crying all over again, but there wasn't time for that.

_Think, Lisa. Think. Where would Hiyori go?_ Lisa crumpled the note in her hand. Knowing Hiyori, she wasn't anywhere around there. But Love and Mashiro wouldn't know that.

Lisa started to run as fast as she could. She didn't know what the outcome would be if Hiyori had gone there... she just hoped she was wrong.

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><p>"Mashiro, go home and go to sleep." Love sighed, patting Mashiro on the head. "You're exhausted." And cranky, but Love wasn't about to bring that up.<p>

"Nooo! I want to help find Hiyori!" Mashiro stomped her foot and whined loudly.

"You've helped a lot. Now go home and rest." Love gave her a nudge, and, although she pouted, Mashiro turned and went home.

Curling up in bed, Mashiro drifted off within a few minutes. But her dreams were definitely not sweet...

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><p>"<em>Captain Muguruma!" Members of the 9th division pressed themselves into the medic division's ER room, where Kensei lay on the bed, covered in blood-soaked bandages.<em>

"_Kensei!" Mashiro pushed her way to the front of the crowd, tears starting in her eyes. A few members of the division mumbled about her disrespect to their captain, but for the most part everyone else stayed quiet. After all, like it or not, Mashiro Kuna was their lieutenant. She had some sort of right to be a little familiar with their captain, right?_

_Mashiro resisted the urge to throw herself at Kensei, to hug him. He had so many injuries, and a hug would only hurt him more. Instead, she knelt by the side of his bed, holding onto his hand that wasn't squeezing back or batting her away._

_Slowly, the rest of the division began to filter out, leaving the captain and lieutenant alone. Mashiro was openly sobbing, her forehead pressed to the edge of the bed. _

_Kensei didn't wake up, and after several minutes of Mashiro crying, some sort of alarm went off in the room, and Unohana ran in, easing Mashiro out of the room._

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><p>Mashiro sat up, drenched in sweat and tears, tangled in blankets.<p>

Everyone knows that the worse nightmares come from memories.

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><p>AN: I really felt like Mashiro wasn't getting enough attention and I came up with that last scene. I have to admit I was laughing a little as I typed that serious scene because my computer didn't know Kensei's last name or Unohana's name. In all seriousness though, it was hard to write. What do you guys think?


	5. Outpouring

A/N: I decided to do an extra chapter, just in case I really can't post anything tomorrow. Thank you to Ayase Reincarnated and The Rish for your reviews on the last chapter! And thank you The Rish for your helpful insights!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or make any profit from this.

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><p>Lisa stood in a place she never thought she would go again.<p>

She stood in the middle of Sereitei.

"This way, Miss Yadomaru." Hanataro Yamada guided her through throngs of people. He had been the one to convince the gatekeeper to let her in, saying that they needed her help.

"So what is our status here?" Lisa never really was one for idle chitchat, but she was curious about this.

"I'm not sure..." Hanataro stuttered out. "You'd have to ask a captain..."

Memories of Captain Kyoraku came to mind, but Lisa brushed them aside. She didn't have time to think about things like that.

"Where is Hiyori?" Lisa glanced around; soul society really hadn't changed much at all. "And how much trouble is she causing?"

"Fifth division." Hanataro kept his gaze on the ground. "I don't know the details... just that they were going to incarcerate her and Shinji told them if they did he was going to stop doing his work."

"Which would make him just like Shunsui." Lisa muttered, shaking her head. As if Soul Society needed another Shunsui. If she remembered correctly, one was definitely enough.

"Here we are." Hanataro stopped in front of the fifth division building. "Do... do you need help getting to Captain Hirako's office?"

"No, I'm pretty sure I can just follow the yelling." Lisa said evenly, stepping inside the building. Oddly enough, she didn't hear any yelling, not at first anyway.

A young girl gawked at Lisa for a moment before ducking back into her office marked "lieutenant".

"Excuse me, can you direct me to Shinji Hirako's office?" Lisa peered into the office of the girl.

"Down the hall and on your left." The girl bowed her head respectfully. "Just ask for Momo Hinamori if you need any further help, ok?" Momo gave her a dazzling smile, despite that she was obviously a little wary of a vizard.

Lisa nodded and followed her direction to a room where the door was shut and no noise was coming from inside. She opened the door without knocking, an old habit she'd had when she was Shunsui's subordinate.

Lisa didn't notice the two blondes in the corner. She noticed, instead, that the desk and chair had been thrown haphazardly across the room. There was a hole in the wall where the leg of the chair had stuck into it, and the chandelier was askew in its spot on the ceiling.

Lisa shut the door and focused on the captain and former lieutenant on the floor. Shinji had a rapidly developing black eye, and his nose was bleeding. His tie that he wore under his haori was hanging, ripped before the knot, off his neck. But he was conscious, at least. The expression on his face was really more worried than angry.

Lisa turned her gaze to Hiyori. The young-looking girl was huddled on Shinji's lap, her breathing erratic and her eyes darting around the room. Her usual scowl remained on her face, but her lips were twitching nervously. Her white shirt that she wore under her jogging suit had blood on it, which Lisa could rightfully assume was Shinji's, since Hiyori didn't seem to have a scratch on her.

"Hiyori." Lisa said as evenly as she could manage. "It's time to go home. Shinji has work to do."

Hiyori didn't say anything, but her hands fisted, one around Shinji's haori and the other in his hair. A shudder ran through her tiny body, and she glared at Lisa, though it was a shadow of her usual one.

Lisa was not deterred. "Sarugaki." She said in a firmer voice. "Sarugaki, it's time to go home."

Hiyori looked at Shinji, almost as if for permission. Their eyes locked for a moment, and then Shinji sighed.

"I'm not mad, Hiyori. Go home." Shinji was dead serious, but he wasn't moving an inch. "Go. Home."

Hiyori looked like she wanted to hit him, just for a second, and then her eyes teared up. Shinji looked horrified, he had never seen Hiyori like this.

Hiyori stood, her breaths shaking, but the scowl on her face stayed dead serious. She raised a hand, and Lisa feared that she would slap Shinji for telling her what to do.

Instead, Hiyori dropped her hand to her side and retreated to Lisa's side.

"Wait outside the door." Lisa nudged Hiyori gently. "Wait right outside this door. I need to talk to Shinji." When Hiyori had gone to stand in the hall and the door was shut, Lisa turned to Shinji. "What set her off?"

"She told me to come home, and when I said I couldn't, she trashed the room and hit me a few times... but..." Shinji glanced towards the door and lowered his voice. "After my nose started to bleed she just stopped. She collapsed into my lap and wouldn't say anything, looked like maybe she was having a panic attack, and like she might cry..."

"I'm taking her home." Lisa started to open the door. "I suggest you arrange a visit within the next week." With that, Lisa walked out, grabbed Hiyori's hand, and took her home.

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><p>"You look a little green, Mashiro." Love said, studying the girl.<p>

"That's not funny!" Mashiro yelped. She did feel sick though, and it was definitely from lack of sleep. She hadn't been able to get back to sleep after that horrible memory-nightmare the night before.

She could almost smell the antiseptic and metal of the medic division when Kensei had been there. It was shortly after she had been appointed as his lieutenant. He had said she couldn't be trusted on this kind of mission yet, so she had been forced to stay and do paperwork while he was out.

She hadn't heard the story from him, and she didn't want to know the details, not really. What she had heard, was that an arrancar had ambushed Kensei in a sneak attack, and Kensei never had a chance to retaliate. Some other soul reapers from his division had settled the score, but Kensei was already injured.

_Mashiro, you need to step outside._ Unohana's creepy calm voice reverberated in Mashiro's ears, making her shiver. The alarms going off signaling that Kensei had some internal bleeding, and Captain Unohana's creepy calm voice... Mashiro shuddered again, it was too much.

Lisa stepped into the living room, setting Hiyori on the couch next to Mashiro. The blonde girl's breathing was irregular, and she was shuddering hard.

"If she doesn't calm down in the next five minutes, I'm taking her to the ER." Lisa announced.

"Where was she?" Love looked from Hiyori to Lisa. "I couldn't find her anywhere."

"Sereitei." Lisa exhaled loudly. "She was terrorizing Shinji and then appears to have had a little breakdown. If she can't calm down she'll need a sedative at the hospital."

"I'm fine!" Hiyori snapped, the first time she had spoken since before Lisa found her. "Everyone shut up and get out of my face!"

Hiyori ran to her room and slammed the door. Everyone else was silent for a moment, and then Mashiro slowly stood and followed her.

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><p>AN: I wasn't quite sure where to cut this off, but I think this is a good place. I'll try to get a chapter in tomorrow, but I'm doubting that I can... anyway, how am I doing? It's like that bumper sticker; tell me how my driving is. Except it's writing.


	6. Showing Signs

A/N: I just got home and am attempting to have a couple chapters up today, but one may be my limit today. Let's get this going though.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach and I make no profit from this.

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><p>"Are you sure it's alright to leave them alone together?" Love said, placing his manga on the coffee table. "Hiyori could probably take a turn for the worse and kill Mashiro while her guard is down."<p>

"Hiyori is too vulnerable to kill anyone." Lisa stretched out on the couch, throwing the pillows down by her feet so she wouldn't have a breakdown of her own. "She started to attack Shinji but she freaked out as soon as she saw blood. She's in no state to do any serious harm."

Love studied Lisa for a few moments before asking, "Why aren't you using the pillows?"

Lisa looked at him dead on and said calmly, "No reason."

They locked eyes for a long moment, Lisa silently begging him with every fiber of her being to just drop it. Lisa's chest ached with the memory of what a reminder of Rose had done to her last time, and she was all for preventing it this time.

"Hm." Love stood up and tried to peek in at Mashiro and Hiyori. It was painfully obvious that he didn't believe Lisa's theory.

"Sit down." Lisa exhaled in a huff. "They're fine. Stop treating them like they're children." Love started to object, but Lisa cut him off. "Sit. Down. Aikawa."

Love sat down without any further objections, picked his current manga back up, and began to read.

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><p>"You know, I never knew you had feelings." Mashiro was lying across the foot of Hiyori's bed, swinging her feet. The window had been wrenched open to allow some fresh air, and the breeze raised goosebumps on her skin. A sickly sweet smell wafted in amongst the breeze, brought by a patch of flowers below the window.<p>

Hiyori didn't say anything, instead she zipped her jogging suit up to hide the blood on her white shirt. She felt physically sick from the stress, and exhausted. She sank her wayward fang into her lip, and hot, salty blood welled up under it.

"You always seem so tough, like you don't care about anything." Mashiro slid her hands under her head. "I mean, even Kensei gets mad, but even when you get mad, especially at Shinji, it seems like you're just going through the motions. Like you're not really mad at him at all."

Hiyori scowled deeply, despite that her face was turning pink. In that moment, she hadn't ever hated anyone more than she hated Mashiro. She wished horrible, terrible things on her, and she would've said them to her too… if she was sure when she opened her mouth a sob wouldn't come out. Hiyori swallowed hard a couple times and then shoved Mashiro out of her room, slamming the door behind her and forcing the lock to actually lock.

"She kicked you out, huh?" Love laughed slightly. "Well, you can hang out here with us, how's that sound?" He patted the chair next to him.

"Hiyori's being mean." Mashiro plunked down in the chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "She won't talk to me at all."

"Well maybe you shouldn't bother her so much." Lisa propped herself up on the arm of the couch. "She's got a short temper and she's having a hard time with this change too. You're lucky she didn't attack you."

Mashiro glared at her and turned so she was facing Love fully.

Love just laughed as Lisa glared at him.

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><p>Hiyori settled by the window inside her room, shivering in the breeze and relaxing a little in the fresh air. <em>I'll never admit it… but I miss him. That dumb face… the big, wiseass mouth… damn it, why did he have to go?<em>

Hiyori's hand clenched at the bottom of the window, the rough wood digging into her hand as it splintered under her grip.

_You better visit… dumbass._

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><p>AN: I'm trying to lengthen my scenes up, but I also felt like the short end scene with Hiyori was necessary. So, what did you think?


	7. Unexpected Return

A/N: In this chapter, I'm starting something I did not plan by any means. I think you'll see what I mean as you read, but the way I see it, it should expand the view of the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach and I make no profit of off this.

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><p>"That's quite the shiner you've got there, Captain Hirako." Kensei choked down his version of a chuckle; sometimes the things that happened to Shinji were just the least bit funny, even to him.<p>

Shinji brushed his bangs down a bit, his eyes narrowing. His black eye, the same one that Hiyori had given him, was showing no signs of fading. Instead, it seemed to be getting worse. Shinji had visited Captain Unohana about it, and she had said something about the severity of a bruise taking time to rise to the surface completely. In the end, she had given him some ointment to help it fade, but despite Shinji's respect for her, he really couldn't see it changing at all. "What is this meeting about, and why are we the only ones here?" Shinji frowned at his fellow captain and vizard friend.

"It's about Rose." Kensei huffed, shuffling some paperwork into neater stacks. "He's been severely injured in battle." Kensei sighed and looked at Shinji again.

"Is he gonna be alright?" Shinji's voice had turned serious for once.

"Yeah, but Unohana said he's going to need a couple weeks of rest to be back to normal." Kensei closed his eyes just for a couple seconds and then added; "She suggested he go back to Karakura so he won't be tempted to work. She wants him to hang out with the girls so he can rest until he's fully healed." The look on Kensei's face almost said that was where he wanted to be. Almost. "Anyway, Unohana said he needed an escort, and I'm busy. So, you want to take him back?" Kensei's face no longer said he wanted to be somewhere else. Now he just looked annoyed.

Shinji thought of Lisa's words, how he should try to visit Hiyori within the week. "Alright, when does he need to be taken to Karakura?"

* * *

><p>"Alright, that's it, everyone out of the kitchen!" Lisa snapped. She managed to shove Mashiro out, though that peace wouldn't last, but Love lingered near the stove. "You too." Lisa smacked Love on the shoulder blade, hard enough that he stumbled out of the kitchen. Lisa slammed the door behind him, leaning all her weight onto it.<p>

It was Friday, and Friday had been deemed group night. Group night entailed dinner together, and then spending time together. It had been Hachi's idea, probably the only reason it hadn't been vetoed. So here Lisa was on a Friday night, no longer alone with her manga, but instead cooking a feast. Still, she thought something like this might be good for Hiyori and Mashiro, possibly even herself. She slid her hand into her pocket and ran her fingers over Mizuiro's phone number. He was just a kid, but he _had_ wanted to help... Lisa shook her head. She didn't need anyone to help her, she could handle this on her own. She heard the mangled doorbell buzz and she didn't move. Instead she called out, "Someone get the door!"

* * *

><p>Hiyori whipped the door open, already pissed off. "What do you wa-" Her sentence cut off abruptly when she came face to face with Shinji. Trying hard to maintain her composure, and hold back the tears burning in her eyes, she stomped to her room and slammed the door. Mashiro eyed the door hopefully, but Kensei didn't appear beside Shinji and Rose. Even more teary-eyed than Hiyori, she took off, heading for the training level of the warehouse.<p>

Love gave a sigh and a shrug, and then asked, "What brings Captains here?"

Rose stepped inside. "I need my old room back, just for a few weeks."

Hachi watched them for a few minutes from the far side of the living room and then disappeared after Mashiro.

Rose explained the situation, but he ended with, "Where is Lisa?"

Love laughed. "Cooking. Playing chef. No one's touched your room, so go ahead and move back in. For a few weeks."

Rose nodded, and then ducked into the kitchen. He could smell some sort of stir-fry cooking before he saw it, and a platter of homemade delicacies sat on the counter, on a potholder. Lisa clearly had too much time on her hands.

Lisa stood over the wok, her hands shaking slightly. However, she didn't even look at him when she said, "Welcome home, Rose."

* * *

><p>AN: So Rose is going to be around for a little bit, and we'll see if Lisa can face up to her feelings in that time. Next chapter will probably focus a lot on Shinji's visit. What do you think?


	8. The Broken Doll

A/N: We're picking up the same date and time where we left off, but with a different couple. So essentially, same time, different room.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or make any profit from this.

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><p>"Hiyori, let me in." Shinji rapped on Hiyori's bedroom door for the third time. It really was unusual for Hiyori to lock herself in her room to get away from <em>him<em>. Usually she preferred kicking him in the face or hitting him with her sandal.

Shinji sighed. He rarely used Lisa's trick for the old doorknobs inside the warehouse – if you manhandled them enough the lock would pop – but he deemed this close enough to an emergency. Popping the lock, he stepped inside.

Hiyori was curled up in her bed. "I hate you." She muttered, but it was without its traditional hatred and zest. Hell, if there had been any hatred in it to begin with it was long gone now.

"You wanna hit me?" Shinji offered. "It might make you feel better."

Hiyori shook her head slowly, silent.

A slow grin crept across Shinji's face. "You want a hug?"

Normally Hiyori would've been revolted at the idea, but this time a faint dusting of pink appeared across her face. "Shut up." She heaved a sigh.

Shinji blinked, and then slowly wrapped his arms around her. For once, the small girl wasn't fighting, and while she wasn't exactly cuddling him, she seemed somewhat content in his arms. Shinji couldn't help but notice the dark circles under Hiyori's eyes had deepened since he left. Her eyes looked dim too, as if the life had left her. When he lowered his gaze just a bit, he could see a scab on her bottom lip where her snaggletooth had sunk into her lip. In short she was a wreck, more so than usual.

The sunlight was beginning to fade outside the window, and Hiyori's eyelids were drooping, as much as she was trying to fight it.

"I have to get back." Shinji murmured, tucking the already half-asleep Hiyori into her bed. "I'll come again soon." He just hoped the workload would allow that, because he was sure there would be hell to pay if he turned out to be a liar. Hiyori said nothing, but her eyes tracked him to the door.

Then, softly, she whispered, "You better come back, dumbass." Before her eyes dropped shut for the night.

At that, Shinji pressed his lips together as not to wake her with his laughter, and then slipped out.

* * *

><p>"Do I get to see the scar?" Lisa prodded. She had long since managed to corral Love and Mashiro into their beds, and Hachi had gone to bed on his own. Now it was just Lisa, Rose, and a battle of wits.<p>

"I think you just want to see me shirtless." Rose teased and took a sip of his ice water. Their quarrels were almost always like this, scary calm, with some teasing and trickery.

Lisa shoved her blush down. "Why would I want to see you shirtless?" Was all she felt she could counter with.

"Why wouldn't you?" Rose gave her a lazy grin.

A moment of silence settled in, and Lisa fought her impending blush with every fiber of her being. Stuck, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "I just don't. Maybe you're just not my type."

For half a second, Rose looked stung. Then he stood. "I'm going to bed. See you in the morning." He headed to his room.

Lisa remained stone-faced until she made it to her room, then she slammed the door and let a few tears fall. _Idiot, idiot, IDIOT! _She berated herself mentally. _Why can't you just admit that for the first time in hundreds of years, you need someone? Why is it so hard?_ She pounded her fist on the wall. "Idiot..." She mumbled once before letting her knees give out. Exhausted with the weight of it all, she collapsed onto the cement, closing her eyes.

* * *

><p>"You should visit Mashiro, you know that?" Shinji sighed over a glass of sake. "She misses you. It's obvious."<p>

His comrade in alcohol, Kensei, didn't look at him. "I'm too busy. She's fine."

Shinji slammed his glass down. "A real man would make time." He stood, wobbling a bit, and walked out.

For once, Shinji was right. Kensei looked around the room. For once the office was clean, even mostly free of paperwork. Maybe he could visit her.

* * *

><p>AN: This is the second of three chapters that were prewritten on paper. The third will probably be the last post on this tonight.


	9. Stormy Reactions

A/N: I just want to thank everyone who has favorited, reviewed, or put this or me on his or her alerts. All of you have you no idea how wonderful you are.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or make any profit from this.

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><p>It was late, or early depending on how you viewed six AM. The sunshine was leaking through Lisa's curtains and Lisa cursed it. She hadn't managed to get any sleep, and she had the headache of the decade.<p>

With shaky fingers, she dialed the number on the scrap of paper into her cell phone. Two rings, then he picked up.

"Hello?" Mizuiro's voice made Lisa hesitate, then hang up.

She was being ridiculous, that was all, she was sure. Her phone began to ring just as the door opened, revealing a shirtless Rose with a scar that reached from his left shoulder to his right hip. Lisa silenced her phone quickly.

"Who was that?" Rose nodded at her cell.

Lisa leveled her gaze to his. "Damn telemarketers."

"Hm." Rose didn't show any sign that he believed her, but he sat beside her all the same. "So how bad has it been since we left?" Rose stood again, and Lisa's breath caught, but he just shut the door and sat back down.

Lisa forced down those "pathetic girly" feelings to get all sappy and beg him to stay longer and just shrugged. "Mashiro's been getting better at being without Kensei... until someone reminds her that he's gone. I'm sure you heard what Hiyori did..." Lisa leaned back onto her bed, shoving her shaking hands under the comforter.

"What about you?" Rose was studying her face with a seriousness he usually couldn't muster. "How have you been?"

Try as she might, Lisa couldn't meet his eyes. "I'm fine." She told him, no matter how obvious the lie was. "I'm always fine." She added, furthering the disbelief on Rose's face.

Lisa stared him down without meeting his eyes. Instead she focused on the bridge of his nose in an attempt to make it look as if she could still meet his eyes. Her eyes were dry, and her mouth set in a thin line, but only she could see the turmoil in her own heart.

Rose couldn't help staring at her lips, Lisa could tell. His eyes were focused on the thin line she had pressed her lips into, and he swallowed hard.

Lisa stood, hating herself for letting him get so close. "So does it still hurt?" She asked, pointing at the fresh scar across Rose's chest.

"It's mostly healed." Rose shrugged, calm as ever. Hell, he had probably been just as calm when he was injured. "Unohana just didn't want me breaking it open in battle." He leaned back onto Lisa's bed. "So, you miss me much?" He turned his head to give her another lazy grin, but she wasn't looking at him anymore.

"I was busy with Mashiro and Hiyori. I barely noticed you were gone." Lisa was sure if there had been such a thing as hell, she would've been headed to it for that one. But there wasn't, except maybe for the one inside her head.

"That's good..." Rose played with a string coming off of her comforter. "But I think you're lying."

Lisa spun on him, her eyes wide. "Get out of my room." When Rose didn't move fast enough, she added, "Now!"

Lisa didn't give an or else, but Rose didn't need one. He knew that no one had fury like Lisa, not even Yamamoto. He laughed and walked out of her room, clicking the door shut.

* * *

><p>That evening, as outside a clashing and flashing thunderstorm raged, Lisa lay in her bed, unable to sleep still. Without warning, her doorknob rattled, followed by a frantic pounding. Lisa stood and opened the door, revealing a terrified Mashiro.<p>

"Please, please, pretty please come sleep in my room with me!" The green haired former lieutenant begged.

Lisa briefly considered telling her no, that only children needed a companion during a storm, but she knew Mashiro would be relentless. "Alright." Lisa grabbed her favorite pillow, and then followed Mashiro to her room.

It wasn't as if she and Mashiro had never shared a bed before. After all, when they had first come to Karakura and Mashiro was having nightmares, Lisa had kept her company during the night. Years later, Kensei became the confidante for Mashiro's bad dreams, but in those first two years, his temper hadn't cooled enough to be trusted enough to be alone with Mashiro.

Lisa took the side of the bed that Mashiro never slept on – the right – and settled down. Mashiro lay on her back, trembling so hard the whole bed shook.

"You're fine." Lisa said softly. "We're indoors, we're safe from the storm." When all logic failed to calm her comrade, Lisa pulled her close. In the dark, the window started to open.

Mashiro screamed, but Lisa recognized the energy signature. "Mashiro, shh." Lisa eased her way out of bed and to the window, then shoved the window up. "Hello, Kensei." The dark haired vizard girl stepped aside to let him in. "How about next time you use the door." It wasn't a question.

"It was locked, no one answered, and you made me give up my key when I left." Kensei grumbled, and Mashiro shot Lisa a glare. A nearly blinding flash of lightning, which left Mashiro clinging to Kensei, intercepted the dirty look.

"My work here is done." Lisa eyed Kensei's dripping coat. "Kensei, give me your coat." She held out her hand.

Kensei didn't like being ordered around, but he handed his raincoat over and Lisa left the room with it.

"Stupid Kensei... you scared me. Meanie." Mashiro muttered, though she hadn't let go of Kensei's shirt. Kensei said nothing, just automatically wrapped his arms around her as some thunder crackled.

It didn't take much to please Mashiro, and right now, with their living situations, the bare minimum was probably the best.

Kensei stayed only until the storm stopped, then returned to Sereitei.

* * *

><p>AN: If these scenes didn't look long, they were handwritten first, and they seemed longer. So, what do you think?


	10. Accept Exception

A/N: I don't know if I can get anything done tomorrow, since I'll be home with the dog again, but I'll try to get something done. This weekend should, maybe, be a big adding time, because I won't be the only one taking care of him. Anyway, on with the update.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. I make no profit from this.

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><p>Mashiro pulled the sheets up to her nose, refusing to get out of bed despite that her alarm clock said noon. Her bed smelled like Kensei, like his clothes, his soap, his shampoo. Her pillow smelled like his neck, his cologne, <em>him. <em>

Mashiro could only identify the scent because she had bought him that cologne. It was an AXE spray that she had bought him years ago. At first he had complained, but every time she was able to get close to him, Mashiro could smell the spray on him. Even when that canister had been empty, she had found a new one in his room, the same kind.

She had also found the one she gave him, with a pink and purple bow still on it, tucked away in his sock drawer, hidden under all the socks. When she had told him she had found it, that old canister mysteriously disappeared, but Kensei never stopped using that same kind of cologne.

Mashiro buried her face in the pillow and took a Kensei-hit off of it. "Stupid Kensei..." She whispered, tears budding in her eyes.

If only... if only the soul reapers had accepted her to return too. She couldn't think of one thing she wouldn't give to be by Kensei's side.

But alas, the female vizards and Love and Hachi, their situations were still pending. They were stuck in the horrid limbo of not knowing which way it would go.

Mashiro's hand fisted around the corner of the pillow and tossed it across the room. Why couldn't Kensei grant them reprieve to come back to Soul Society? Or even Captain Unohana? She had called them allies, so why couldn't they come back?

Mashiro ripped her second pillow; the one Kensei hadn't touched, in half. Feathers flew around the room in a flurry, just as Lisa opened the door.

Lisa blinked, batting the feathers away from her. Choosing not to ask, she set a plate of a sandwich and chips on Mashiro's bed. "You missed breakfast and lunch. Eat up." She turned to leave, swatting feathers away from her all the while.

"How did you take it?" Mashiro whispered, the ache in her chest growing into a stabbing pain. "Being away from Rose when you love him so much?"

Lisa looked at her for a long moment. One of the last feathers landed on Lisa's nose and she frowned. "How did you know?" She murmured after another moment or two. "How did you guess?"

"Everyone knows but him. We're not that dense." Mashiro slowly started to pick the feathers that had drifted onto her plate off of it. "But how do you do it?"

Lisa pushed her glasses up. "I know as long as he's ok, I'll be ok." She was lying through her teeth, but it didn't matter to her. "Eat your lunch." Lisa walked out, shutting the door.

Mashiro looked at the food. She didn't really want it, but the growling of her stomach won out. With a small frown, she sat on the floor with her plate and began to eat.

* * *

><p>"I'm going to settle this soul reaper thing once and for all!" Hiyori snapped as Lisa held her back from the door. "Let me go!"<p>

"This isn't something that can be pushed." Lisa sighed, picking Hiyori up. Sometimes Hiyori's size was definitely an advantage when she needed to be contained. "You're not going to help any by going and screaming at people. And Shinji won't be happy."

Hiyori, who had been kicking and screaming relentlessly, went limp in Lisa's arms. The taller girl nearly dropped her at the dead weight. "Damn it..." Hiyori muttered, her breath shaking ever so slightly.

Well, if that was the key to calming Hiyori down, Lisa wasn't about to ever let that one go. "Just relax. I'll go when Rose goes back and talk to some captains there then. Don't rush into things blindly, alright?"

Hiyori growled slightly, she didn't like the fact that they weren't being accepted back into soul society any more than the rest of them.

"I thought you hated soul reapers." Lisa raised an eyebrow over the frames of her glasses.

"Shut up!" Hiyori snapped, forcing Lisa to drop her by twisting her wrists, and running to her room.

Lisa just shook her head. It was obvious the only reason Hiyori wanted to go back was for Shinji.

But to Lisa, love was a good enough reason.

* * *

><p>AN: We're actually getting close to the end...So I wanted to fill everyone in that after this is over, there will be a follow up oneshot set several months after this ends. Anyway, what did you think?


	11. Collapse

A/N: I just wanted to thank everyone who's been faithfully reviewing and reading. We're not quite done yet, but we are nearing the end. At the end of this story, in the end author note, I'll give information on the title of the follow up oneshot and my next stories that are coming up. Anyway, on with the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or make any profit off of this.

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><p>Lisa bounced the tennis ball off her ceiling, catching it just shy of hitting her in the eye. She knew she shouldn't have kicked Rose out of her room, that she could've just admitted that she had missed him. "Damn…" She muttered, letting the tennis ball roll out of her hand and under the bed.<p>

The lock had popped, just as she had taught everyone to do, except for Mashiro anyway. Rose stepped inside, shutting the door and locking it.

"We're going to talk now." His face the epitome of seriousness, he sat beside Lisa's hip, eyeing her.

"Let's not and say we did." Lisa rolled on her side, facing away from him. She didn't want to deal with this right now. She _couldn't _deal with it.

"Let's." Rose leaned down over her, tugging one of her braids almost playfully. "I'll start. True or false, you missed me more than you're letting on."

Lisa hesitated, her heart pounding. "True." She tried to wriggle away from him, just so she wouldn't be eye to eye with him, but he put a hand on each side of her head so she was stuck.

"Even though you were busy with everyone else, you still couldn't stop thinking about me."

Silence set in. Lisa didn't want to answer, yet she did. She didn't want to divulge her secrets, yet she didn't want to hide everything anymore. Lisa held eye contact, but didn't say anything.

"I can wait." Rose gave her an easygoing grin. Lisa knew damn well the kind of patience Rose had, and it wouldn't work in her favor.

"True." Lisa's voice was a little softer this time, but she wasn't breaking eye contact.

"Percentage, how much did you miss me?" Rose had gone serious again, staring deep into her eyes.

Lisa briefly considered shoving him off of her, but quickly reconsidered. Unohana had said that there was a chance his wound could break open, and Lisa couldn't remember which side it was under all this stress.

"Rose, get off of me." She muttered, looking for a way out. She wasn't one to run away from a battle, but battles of emotions were so much different than killing a hollow with a sword. Emotions were delicate.

"No." Rose didn't move, but blood dripped out of the corner of his mouth.

"Rose!" Lisa swore loudly as Rose collapsed on top of her, blood leaking from his mouth and into his shirt at an alarming rate.

At this point, Rose was fully unconscious. Lisa managed to get them to her feet, holding Rose's arm over her shoulders to hold him upright.

Opening the door to her room, she yelled out, "Love, watch the household!"

With that, carrying Rose, she fled to Soul society.

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><p>AN: this is a shorter chapter, but I wanted to leave off on the cliffhanger. Next chapter should be up shortly. What do you think?


	12. Return Accepted

A/N: I want to finish this story up tonight, but I'm not positive that I can actually do it. But we'll see. Again, follow up info and next stories info will be announced in the very end author note.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or make any profit from this.

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><p>"You need to calm down, Lisa…" Unohana smiled at her. "He'll be alright."<p>

Rose lay on the hospital bed in front of them, pale, but alive. He was still unconscious, but he wasn't bleeding anymore, and his vitals were normal. Unohana had said that his blood pressure had been dangerously low, pointing to internal bleeding. But nearly two hours later, he seemed to be ok.

Lisa felt like crying. That voice in the back of her head was saying it was her fault, that she had put him through enough stress that his wound had broken open. That it was her fault, her fault, HER FAULT.

"Why don't you go talk to Captain Kyoraku?" Unohana offered. "I'll monitor Captain Otoribashi personally. Captain Kyoraku may have something to say about your status…"

"No." Lisa shook her head and pulled up a chair. "I want to stay until Rose wakes up." She dropped down into the chair, exhausted and covered in Rose's blood. Her hands were red and sticky, and she fruitlessly rubbed them on her skirt.

"There's a bathroom just down the hall, why don't you go wash up?" Unohana offered. "I could probably find you a clean outfit…"

"I'm fine." Lisa snapped, but Unohana just shook her head. "I want to stay with Rose. I'm not moving until he wakes up."

Unohana nodded, clearly she understood. She examined the monitors one more time, then slipped out of the room, going back to her doctor duties.

"You're such an idiot sometimes, you know that?" Lisa rubbed her eyes on the bottom of her shirt, the only part of her that didn't have Rose's blood on it. "You stress yourself out just to get some information out of me… you're a brat just like the rest of them. But… I love you regardless. You're lazy and you steal my manga and you leave, but I love you… God, I think I'm the idiot for not saying that sooner."

Rose opened one eye and gave her a lazy grin. "Good to hear, love you too, idiot."

Lisa blinked. She didn't know how long he had been awake, or how much he had heard. All she knew was that she had admitted that she loved him, essentially that she needed him, and he had said it back.

Slowly, she leaned over his bed and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you in a bit." Shaking all over, she exited the room.

* * *

><p>Lisa stepped into Shunsui Kyoraku's office, finally scrubbed clean of Rose's blood and wearing some of Nanao's clothes. The younger girl had been delighted to see Lisa, even admitting to her that she still had the books Lisa had read to her as a child.<p>

"Ah, Lisa." Shunsui smiled at her, taking a long drink from a bottle of sake. "Want a sip?"

"No. I see you haven't changed." Lisa plunked herself down into the chair across the desk from Shunsui's. "I want to know if the rest of us, the vizards can come back too. We fought as much as we could, as hard as we could just like Shinji, Rose and Kensei."

"That's already been decided." Shunsui finished his bottle of sake and frowned at it before setting it behind the desk. He took a long pause for dramatic effect.

"And?" Lisa growled, never one to wait for anyone to continue.

"You won't be able to get your old positions back…" Shunsui sighed, then smiled. "But you're welcome back. All of you. We'll find room for you."

Lisa nodded and then headed for the door. "Thank you… Captain." She muttered, and then stepped outside.

She'd tell Rose first, then the others.

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><p>AN: I believe the next chapter will be the last, and then I'll do the follow up before I move on. So, what's everyone thinking about this right now?


	13. Knots

A/N: This is the last chapter of this story. There will be a follow up to this, posted separately. The title, and information for other upcoming stories, will be in the end author notes, ok? Read on, my loyal readers! ^_^ Thank you so much to everyone who stuck around, and especially a big thank you to The Rish for promoting my story on her tumblr blog.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. I make no profit from this.

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><p>"So that's our situation now." Lisa perched on the arm of the couch. "So who's going to go back?" She clenched her fists slightly, then released. She didn't care what it took anymore; she'd pick up her whole life and go to Rose. He was just that important, and she could admit that to herself now. Even the most independent people could love, she figured.<p>

"I hate soul reapers..." Hiyori huffed, looking away. It was clear that she was just trying to be obstinate at this point. The look in her eyes betrayed her; she wanted to go to Shinji.

"Hm. I guess Shinji will just have to be all by himself with all those beautiful women then." Love teased. "He'll have tons of fun all by himself. It'll be just like one of Lisa's manga where-"

Lisa clamped her hand over Love's mouth. "Hiyori, are you going or not? You want to see Shinji; I know you do. Stop putting up your little emotional barricades and be where you want to be."

Everyone, even Hachi, stared at Lisa. Lisa didn't say anything, but she could feel the faintest of blushes creeping across her face.

"Back to my point." Lisa said, trying to force the blush down. "Who's going? We're all welcome back into soul society."

"Me." Hiyori crossed her arms over her chest as everyone's gaze turned to her. "Well someone's gotta keep that dumbass in line!" She snorted, shaking her head.

"Mashiro?" Lisa turned to her green haired friend. "Are you going?" Lisa full well knew the answer to that, but if she didn't ask Mashiro, Mashiro would get angry or pout. Better to consider her feelings.

"Yeah!" Mashiro jumped up, pumping a fist in the air with a huge grin. "I get to be with Kensei again!" She jumped around the room, yelling and giggling.

"Have our positions been filled?" Love asked, suddenly serious. "Or will I be a captain again?"

"Our positions in soul society have been taken." Lisa sighed, glancing at Mashiro. "But I fully believe that they intend to put us in our old divisions, at the least."

"I'm not going." Love sighed. "Someone needs to stay here and hold down the fort. I'm staying here."

Mashiro froze mid-punch, but Hiyori looked like she was formulating some kind of evil plot. Lisa almost wanted to tell her not to even think about it, that since Love wasn't going to be there didn't mean she'd let Hiyori get away with it.

"I understand." Lisa nodded. "It'll be good for us to have a place to come back to if needed. Thank you for offering, Love."

Hachi looked between them, obviously not sure about his own answer. He really looked torn, and Lisa knew if he didn't go, Mashiro just wouldn't be as happy.

"I'm going, if Love can handle things here." Hachi said finally. "Can you?"

Love nodded. "I'll visit everyone, ok? Don't worry about me." He flashed them a grin. "You four better get packing then."

"Yeah..." Lisa murmured. "We better."

* * *

><p>"I feel bad that they kicked someone out of the third seat so I could be in my old division..." Lisa sighed as she sat on the edge of Rose's hospital bed. "I don't even feel like I should be in the third seat."<p>

"You were a lieutenant. You'll be fine." Rose flashed her a small smile. "So you're staying?" He was propped up on some pillows and had a lap-desk so he could do some paperwork.

"Yeah." Lisa reached into her duffel bag, one of several, but the only one she had carried to the medic division. "Brought you a present." She pulled a new manga out of her bag and set it next to Rose. "It's the one you were looking for, the limited edition one with extra content."

Rose blinked for a moment, then wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her down for a long, sweet kiss.

It wasn't the fact she had brought him manga. It was the fact that she had admitted that she needed him, that she was acting nicer, that she was loving him.

Rose had just found something else to love about Lisa.

* * *

><p>"Hiyori!" Shinji braced himself for impact of a slap or kick, but this time when Hiyori connected, it was her arms around his neck. "What's wrong?"<p>

"Tell them I can't be in Mayuri's division." Hiyori's voice was muffled against his shirt. "Tell them now, Shinji!"

Shinji sighed and shut her in his office while he went to deal with the problem. He returned fifteen minutes later, with a handful of paperwork to fill out so Hiyori could be in _his_ division. Shinji had no clue how that would work, but it would be better than having her get into fights with Mayuri.

"Shinji?" Hiyori asked and Shinji blinked. When was the last time she had said his name without it being connected to name-calling? He couldn't remember a time that had ever happened before.

"Yeah?" Shinji set the paperwork on his desk and picked her up out of his chair so he could sit down. Setting her on his lap, he reached for a pen.

"Never mind!" Hiyori snapped, looking away. "Shut up."

Smirking, Shinji pinched her face gently, looked her in the eyes and said, "_You_ were my first love."

Hiyori blushed a faint pink and huffed. "Let go of my face, dumbass." All the same, she cuddled up to him as he turned to his paperwork.

* * *

><p>"Reporting for duty, Captain Ken!" Mashiro was running at Kensei at top speed, and unfortunately she couldn't stop, and she bowled him over, falling onto him in the process. "Sorry!" She struggled to get up, but their limbs were intertwined. Whining like a puppy and thrashing, all she could think was how mad Kensei was going to be.<p>

"Mashiro." Kensei sighed heavily, but he didn't seem mad, not like he had in the old days in soul society. "Stop that." When Mashiro froze, he carefully untangled their limbs and stood her up while standing up too.

The new soul reapers, fresh out of the academy, that Kensei had been training, were gawking. Just as Kensei was about to open his mouth to yell at them to get back to training, Mashiro waved.

"Hi!" She called out, waving overenthusiastically. "I'm in your division, nice to meet you!"

The trainees laughed and waved back before getting back to work. Kensei just shook his head, a quiet smile creeping across his lips.

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><p>AN: First of all, what did you think of the story? Second of all, here's your info: The follow up oneshot is titled "Buds and Bows" and should be up tonight unless all hell breaks loose. I have a dark (VERY DARK) KenseiXMashiro story coming up, probably not tonight, called "Crushed Diamonds". That will be rated M because of content, no actual lemon but some content that is not for the younger set. There should be one or two other projects, but I have yet to pick them. Maybe I'll have more information on Buds And Bows. Anyway, what did you think?


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